Studio81 wrote:Hi guys, thanks for this thread! I took my fathers Double XX into a bike store to get some advice on restoration and they said it wasn't worth restoring. Apparently it needs a new chain/cassette/chain rings, bearings, front axle, brake levers, pads and cable set and seat. I do want to give it a shot because my Dad is not well but this is new to me and don't know where to begin to source appropriate parts or second hand alternatives. Major learning curve.. Any advice heaps appreciated!

Cassette, depends whether it is actually a cassette or a screw on freewheel, and how many cogs but you're looking about $20-30.

Depending on the model of cranks, the chainrings may or may not be replaceable, in any case you can get some old double cranks off a bike on hard rubbish, or off ebay for $20.

The bearings, brake pads and front axle are available anywhere and cost next to nothing for brand new stuff, again you can just strip parts off a thrown out bike if you want.

Cables are cheap as chips, say $15 for a full set.

Bike shops often have a bargain bin of 2nd hand saddles that customers have swapped out from new bikes and you're looking $10-20.

And for the brake levers, they may mean the levers as a whole, or just the rubber hoods. Generic replacement hoods that will fit the majority of levers are easily available, the last time I got a pair through a local bike shop I think it cost $10, maybe a bit more, or you could just buy a whole new lever, either old style Dia-Compe (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Diacompe-Non ... 2c61ce5d94) or newer style Tektro (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tektro-RL340 ... 20ce3e8a6f).I have both types on bikes I ride regularly and while the Tektros are more comfortable for me, either will do the job.

So all up you're looking maybe $120, which sounds pretty cheap to me for fixing up your dad's bike. I restored my dad's old bike last year and it cost that much just to get a couple of parts rechromed, but it was worth every cent when he saw the finished product.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Thanks for the quick advice. Now to strip it back and paint the frame. They suggested the cassette would need replacing along with the chain and that the attachment type would be hard to come by so in the meantime I might try replacing the chain only and see how it shifts through gears. Here's a before image of the bike. Looking forward to seeing how it comes up

I'm curious to know what they meant by 'the attachment type would be hard to come by', could you take a photo of the cassette when you get the rear wheel out?

Before doing any stripping, bear in mind that the silver tips on the frame and forks are chrome plating, if they are still in good shape, be really careful to protect them, as rechroming is very expensive. If those areas are showing rust, a light rub with maroon scotchbrite pads can clean them up, but if there is pitting and flaking then it can be difficult to get it all off, and I don't actually know the best way to go about that.

It's hard to tell from the photo as I can't zoom in enough, but it looks like your cranks may have replaceable chainrings, in which case you can just unbolt them and bolt on new ones. Probably still cheaper to just swap them for another whole crankset but the option is there.

As for checking the cassette and chainrings for wear, what you're looking for is something like the 'shark fin' shape on this-

And hopefully it doesn't look like this

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Oh and I forgot to say, it looks like one of the brake levers is simply missing, so if the one remaining isn't bent or anything, you just need to bung another one on. A donor bike from the tip is looking like a really good option.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Studio81 wrote:Thanks for the quick advice. Now to strip it back and paint the frame. They suggested the cassette would need replacing along with the chain and that the attachment type would be hard to come by so in the meantime I might try replacing the chain only and see how it shifts through gears. Here's a before image of the bike. Looking forward to seeing how it comes up

The XX is a lovely frame, definitely worth restoration back to roadworthiness.It is quite a light frame, with long wheelbase.Are you sure that it needs to be repainted ?

I have a XX and think it is a nice machine from that era (late 1970's)Almost certainly yours has 27 inch wheels.

You can buy some old 1980's 700C wheels and run them on this frame - much easier to get good tyres this way.But you will need to adjust the brakepads because 700C wheels are slightly smaller radius.Also 1980's wheels are usually 126 mm wide between the outer axle bolts and your XX wheel will probably be 120mm wide across the back axle.Making it all work will take a little ingenuity and would probably be easier in a capital city where old bike nuts have swap and sell get-togethers.

Probably the biggest headache with these older bikes is getting reasonably good braking function.

"Technology gives us much more information but Education is never be able to give us the skill to evaluate it"

Here's the freewheel design. It's '79 by the date stamp on shimano components.What's your opinion on wear of the sprockets and chainrings? The bike store advised that all should be replaced together and couldn't assist because this type of freewheel attachment is no longer manufactured. Elantra, I wish I didn't have to paint but the current paintwork is stripping away and there's a fair bit of rust. Originally recommended to bead blast and powdercoat but now I might do as ldrcycles suggested, protect the chrome parts, hand sand and paint with closest to original colour. To save this thread being barraged with how-to questions, can I PM you guys if needed?Cheers!

Ahhh an early uniglide cassette, well and truly non-available as new parts. Very hard to tell just by looking at cassette teeth how worn they are, the chainrings don't look to bad, but they usually wear much slower than rear cogs. You could try putting a new chain on the bike, take it for a spin and see if it skips while under pressure.

At a pinch you can file the wider spline on 4 of the cogs of a new 8 speed cassette to possibly make them fit the freehub body (google Sheldon brown and uniglide cassettes), but will need to retain the existing small cog and hope it isn't worn as it also works as a lockring for the cassette cogs.

Yep what elantra said. Now the bike shop's response about the freewheel makes sense. I may have one of those without wear in my shed, i'll be able to check on Tuesday and let you know. Other than finding an old uniglide cassette that hasn't had much use, the best option would be to just get another 27" rear wheel with a normal freewheel thread, plenty out there, even brand new.

Those chainrings are definitely removable, so it's just a matter of finding some chainrings with the same bolt pattern, i'd take those chainrings off and go to the local tip to see if they have a bike there with compatible unworn chainrings. Shouldn't be difficult.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Studio81 wrote:Here's the freewheel design. It's '79 by the date stamp on shimano components.What's your opinion on wear of the sprockets and chainrings? The bike store advised that all should be replaced together and couldn't assist because this type of freewheel attachment is no longer manufactured. Elantra, I wish I didn't have to paint but the current paintwork is stripping away and there's a fair bit of rust. Originally recommended to bead blast and powdercoat but now I might do as ldrcycles suggested, protect the chrome parts, hand sand and paint with closest to original colour. To save this thread being barraged with how-to questions, can I PM you guys if needed?Cheers!

Feel free to send as many PM questions as you like, but you will probably get more opinions if your questions are public in this thread of the forum, or in the "Shed thread".The chainrings may be relatively worn but they will almost certainly be rather standard and easy to source replacement rings.Most bike shops will have "130mm BCD" chainrings available most commonly 39 or 42 tooth inner chainring and 52 or 53 tooth outer chainring.Personally i prefer smaller chainrings but that is personal preference.If you can't get them at a decent price from local bike store there is a vast selection of this stuff available from the usual internet sites, Wiggle, bikeexchange etc. Not always easy to get chainrings off - and beware those teeth can bite !The Freewheel - hard to say how worn the cogs are from photo but to me it looks like the little ones are in perfect condition but the bigger ones have done all the work and are very worn.If this is an obselete type of hub then probably the simplest thing is to get a more modern wheel (probably from the 1980's) and use that.You can still buy wheels that take screw-on freewheels, and screw-on freewheels are still available new.But they will probably 126mm width from outer edge locknut to locknut.Admittedly all this stuff probably easier to do in Brisbane than Darwin though.

"Technology gives us much more information but Education is never be able to give us the skill to evaluate it"

ldrcycles wrote:hitchhiker, that is purdy . I actually picked up a Sportif in a nice grey-blue a few weeks back, only for parts though the frame was destroyed . Did yours have a sticker on the seat tube saying TI industries Dynalloy?

hitchhiker I am doing up a malvern star one star "ultrasport" (30+years old) can you give me a few clues on how to fit the shimano tourney rear deraileur hanger it has a recessed round nut that fits into the hanger but I can't work our where to anchor the hanger on the frame ?

ldrcycles wrote:hitchhiker, that is purdy . I actually picked up a Sportif in a nice grey-blue a few weeks back, only for parts though the frame was destroyed . Did yours have a sticker on the seat tube saying TI industries Dynalloy?

hitchhiker I am doing up a malvern star one star "ultrasport" (30+years old) can you give me a few clues on how to fit the shimano tourney rear deraileur hanger it has a recessed round nut that fits into the hanger but I can't work our where to anchor the hanger on the frame ?

Hi, I don't think I'm the best person to help you, I don't have any experience with a tourney rear deraileur. Post a picture, there is sure to be someone on here that can help

godea wrote:No worries, I will post a photo and hopefully someone will have some experience with this deraileur

I've got half a dozen of those derailleurs in the shed and I commuted on a Roadmaster with Tourney derailleurs for a while. Nothing special but they get the job done and you would have to be the Hulk to break one .

Bung a photo up to confirm that what i'm thinking of is what you're actually referring to .

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Hi Some of you may have seen my post over the last day or two under 'Raleigh Medale & Malvern Star 'Oppy'.It would appear from advise/tips from members and my own delving, the MS I was given is late 1956 built.Out of interest are there any images of period sales literature of the bike or do any members have a similar bike?Regards MarkGN

I've joined the forum after lurking for a while because tonight I picked up what I hope turns out to be a nice eBay find - a Malvern Star Flite One Star in what looks to be fully original condition. I bought it with the intention of replacing components and turning it into a solid commuter, but it seems so original and virtually unused that now I'm not so sure. Anyway, plenty of time to decide what to do.

I've joined the forum after lurking for a while because tonight I picked up what I hope turns out to be a nice eBay find - a Malvern Star Flite One Star in what looks to be fully original condition. I bought it with the intention of replacing components and turning it into a solid commuter, but it seems so original and virtually unused that now I'm not so sure. Anyway, plenty of time to decide what to do.

Gordonhooker wrote:It looks to be in really good condition - you look like you are onto a winner with this one.

Thanks for the kind words. Since my last post I've taken the bike into Campione Cycles Geelong who said they'd be surprised if the bike had ever covered more than 200km. Good to hear. No need to replace anything except the cables, apparently. I've ridden it a couple of times - just 2-3km each time to get a feel for what I'd like to upgrade/make safe. Braking is the obvious standout, but I measure the reach at 58mm, which seems to limit my choices somewhat. I also think I'll swap the brake levers (i.e. get rid of the upright levers) and am keen to switch from stem shifters to downtube shifters because that's what I had on my previous road bike in 1987 (a Raleigh Pursuit) and I'm all nostalgic for it.

I still don't know what year the bike is but I'm estimating early- to mid-80s based on the Skylark rear derailleur. Any advice from the gurus is welcomed, because if possible I'll buy upgrade parts true to the year (e.g. arabesque or post-arabesque).

The shimano derailleurs on the Flite should have a date code on them, a tiny two letter code. Year and month represented by a letter. This will be a close indication of when the bike was made. I sold Malvern Star Flites back in the day, I think about 1986/87. Not sure of exact year. I think they were the bottom model in the range.Warren

bicyclepassion wrote:The shimano derailleurs on the Flite should have a date code on them, a tiny two letter code. Year and month represented by a letter. This will be a close indication of when the bike was made.

Disassembled most of the bike over the weekend to begin to clean it up. The front derailleur has FD-AX50 and JE, which dates it as 1985/May according to this: http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Japan/ ... _codes.htm. I guess that puts the bike's age as sometime in late '85 or early '86. Thanks for the tip Warren.

Re the disassembly, so far I've removed the saddle and seat post, brake levers, cables and calipers and the shifter levers, cables and front derailleur at a total weight of just under 1.6kg. Plus another 50g of dirt

I've got a Malvern Star Elite that I bought in September 1984 at Melbourne Bicycle Centre in Clifton Hill for $450. It's got a 25 inch frame with only about a 57cm top tube and fits me perfectly. I commuted into town for a couple of years, then used it again to commute in Whyalla in 1988-90 till we started having kids and I had to share child care runs each day. It had a baby seat for occasional use on weekend through the 90s, and a 3rd wheel trailer hitch in 1999-2001 with child #4 - our daughter. Number 1 son used it for a few months to ride to school in about 1994 prior to doing the Great Vic bike ride. I got it out again in 2007 to ride to work, and as I had a hybrid I lent it to a workmate till he could get permission to buy a bike to ride to work. He gave it back to me after a couple of months (and went over the handlebars of his disk braked commuter a few km out of the shop on the way home, braking for an errant driver), but it came back without the single plastic star on the front. I used it as the basis of my commuting after taking all of what I thought at the time were daggy stickers off it. The white pearl paint is quite chipped and worn. It has seen many different 700c wheelsets instead of the original 27" wheels, but I now have some nice 27" MA2s with reasonable hubs to put on it. It still has the original frame, fork, headset, stem, bars, rear brake cable outer, band-on shifters, front derailleur, seatpost and I could probably find the crankset. I don't know if any of you remember the model, with a mid blue seat on it.

I'm about to do the big clean-up on it. White pearl powder coat will be as good as it needs for paint, but I'd like to get the writing correct. I have an acquaintance who is a very good signwriter and will perhaps redo the lettering in paint. He has painted a couple of my sons' fixies very well over the years.

Unlike the picture of the 1985 model in this linkhttp://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 12&t=30174the writing should be all mid-blue, and the "Malvern Star" on the downtube should be in the older cursive script. Do any of you have photos of the Malvern Star logo on a downtube from 1984 or very close in cursive script? Do you have better directly side-on pictures of the "Elite" on the TT?

Who is online

About the Australian Cycling Forums

The largest cycling discussion forum in Australia for all things bike; from new riders to seasoned bike nuts, the Australian Cycling Forums are a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.